New Covenant Q&A's

Do you wonder about some of the things you hear around Faith Bible, like: "What We Mean By "New Covenant?" How about, "In Light of Grace, How Does One Live It?" Or, "Won't Grace Lead to A Life Of Passivity?" These Questions and More Are Answered Here... We think you'll be amazed, pleased, and excited by the answers!

Q&A’s

WHAT IS THE EXCHANGED LIFE?

This term is used to describe the Christian life as God intended it to be and it emphasizes allowing Christ to live His life through us. A careful reading of the New Testament makes it clear that we do not live the Christian life by self-effort but by abiding in Christ and allowing Him to manifest His life through our own (references: John 15:5; Romans 15:18; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:13; and II Thessalonians 2:13).

IN LIGHT OF GRACE, EXACTLY HOW DOES ONE LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

The key to victory in the Christian life lies in acknowledging that you cannot live the Christian life out of your own resources. Only one person has ever lived the Christian life as God intended and that was Jesus Himself! However, there is good news, Jesus wants to live His victorious life through you. Perhaps no verse says it more clearly than Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”

DOES THE TEACHING OF GRACE LEAD TO PASSIVITY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE?

One of the most common misunderstandings about the grace walk is that it teaches passivity in the life of the Christian. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The grace walk is an active lifestyle energized not by the energy of the flesh but by the energy of the indwelling life of Christ. Consider the example of the apostle Paul. Paul trusted Christ to live His life through him (Romans 15:18) while leading an extremely active lifestyle. Notice Paul’s description of his lifestyle in Colossians 1:29, “And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Yet it was not done in the energy of the flesh, it was according to His (Jesus’) power which was at work within Paul.

IF WE ARE FORGIVEN OF OUR SINS – PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE – AT THE TIME OF SALVATION, WON’T THAT LEAD TO A SINFUL LIFESTYLE?

This is not a new question. In fact, this was the essence of the concern of those in Paul’s own day who asked, Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?” (Romans 6:1). Coming to understand the totality of forgiveness should never lead the believer into a sinful lifestyle. Grace doesn’t work that way. Grace enables us to walk in obedience. Grace moves us toward righteousness. Grace overpowers sin. Rules, regulations and rigorous self-discipline will not keep us from sin but an authentic love relationship with Jesus will.

HOW DOES A PERSON ABIDE IN CHRIST?

The word, “Abide” means to continue, to remain, to stay. Abiding occurs as we make the conscious choice to moment-by-moment rest in Christ and allow Him to express His life through our own. Perhaps the classic expression of this truth is in John 15:5 where Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” When Jesus says, “Nothing,” He means, “NOTHING! As Christians we are NOT called to strive to bear fruit for God. We are called to abide or rest in Him allowing Him to produce His fruit and good works through us. We are not fruit producers, we are fruit bearers.

WHAT ABOUT 1 JOHN 1:9? DON’T WE HAVE TO CONFESS OUR SINS TO BE FORGIVEN?

One of the most common misconceptions in Christianity today is that we have to continually confess our sins in order to be forgiven. This belief is contrary to the plain teachings of the Scriptures. Is this to say confession is not important? Absolutely not! We do not oppose confession. We believe Christians should confess their sins. However, we do believe that the biblical doctrine of confession needs to be properly understood.

“Confess” is from the Greek word, “Homolegeo” that literally means, “same word.” It is commonly translated as, “to say the same thing.” When we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with Him that we have sinned, according to His Word. Therefore, confession is not coming to God, we are agreeing with Him that we have sinned, according to His Word. Therefore, confession is not coming to God and saying, “Oh God, I have sinned, I am a dirty, rotten, no-good sinner, please forgive me just one more time.” True confession is like this, “Father, I agree with You that I have sinned. Thank you that I am forgiven and I ask You to remind me of the reality of the fellowship that I truly have in You.” It is important to understand that confession is primarily for us.

Colossians 2:13 says, “He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.” In light of this, we see that 1 John 1:9 is not a conditional promise. We do not have to keep on confessing our sins in order to be forgiven. As believers we abide in God’s forgiveness. The words, “to forgive” are, “hina aphei” in the Greek and are a second aorist subjunctive indicating a single act with ongoing results, not a process. When we believe in Christ we are forgiven forever

JESUS SAID IN THE LORD’S PRAYER THAT IF WE FORGIVE OTHERS THEN GOD WILL FORGIVE US. THAT SEEMS CONDITIONAL. HOW DOES ONE RECONCILE THIS WITH THE UNCONDITIONAL NATURE OF GRACE?

The Lord’s prayer (or better, the model prayer) is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4. In these verses, Jesus teaches that we will be forgiven only as we forgive others. This seems to contradict the unconditional nature of grace and of total forgiveness. The solution lies in considering when Jesus ministered in the redemptive plan of God. Jesus ministered under the Law. He said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. During His earthly ministry Jesus functioned under the Old Covenant of the Law. He did not break the Law, He fulfilled the Law. The New Covenant was initiated by the death of Jesus on the Cross. Therefore, our way of relating to God changed after the Cross and the initiation of the New Covenant. So, the believer on this side of the cross is totally forgiven (past, present, and future) at the time of salvation.

HOW DOES ONE COME TO COMPREHEND THE GRACE OF GOD IN THE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE?

The fullness of the grace of God in the life of the Christian cannot be understood apart from a revelation of God. Some of the most profound words Jesus spoke are found in Luke 10:21-22, “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well pleasing in Thy sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” We come to comprehend spiritual truth only as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. Revelation is a spiritual apprehension of the truth and it comes from the Father.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF THE LAW IN THE WORLD TODAY?

Those who say there is no purpose for the Law of God in the world today do not understand the plain teaching of Scripture on this subject. God uses the Law today to cause unbelievers to realize they are sinners in need of a Savior. Consider the following verses: “Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 5:20). “Therefore, the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).” “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law (1 Corinthians 15:56).” “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all (James 2:10).” The law has a definite purpose in the world today, but not in the life of the Christian.

WHAT EXACTLY IS LEGALISM?

We define legalism as a system of living in which a person tires to make spiritual progress or gain God’s acceptance based on what they do. Legalism is focused on behavior and is therefore an achieving system. Legalism is the opposite of grace. Grace is a system of living in which God blesses us because we are in Jesus Christ and for no other reason at all. Grace is focused on our spiritual birth and is therefore a receiving system. Consider a couple of Scriptures: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).” “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11-12).

DOES WALKING IN GRACE IMPLY A CHRISTIAN NEVER SINS?

Nowhere do the Scriptures imply a Christian is sinless. The words of John in 1 John 1:8 make this abundantly clear: “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Yet at the same time we must understand that as believers the power of sin has been broken in our lives so that we do not have to sin. In Romans 6:12-13, Paul says, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” This does not mean we are incapable of sin. It means we have a choice to either sin or not sin because the power of sin has been broken in our lives. A careful study of Romans six and seven will reveal that although our old nature was put to death at salvation we still struggle with the flesh. The flesh is the way we have learned to meet our needs without God. As believers we have a choice, we can walk in the flesh or in the spirit (see Galatians 5:16-17)

IS THE NEW COVENANT BELIEVER REQUIRED TO TITHE?

Tithing is not to be imposed on the New Covenant believer. Instead, Christians are to give the same way they live, by grace. Tithing is not mentioned after the cross and the inauguration of the New Covenant with the exception of Hebrews 7:5-9. These verses in Hebrews are not used to support tithing, they are given as a historical reference to demonstrate the principle of genetic identity. The foundation for New Covenant giving can be found in II Corinthians 8-9. The key is II Corinthians 9:7, the believer is to give as he has purposed in his heart. Some believers still use tithing as a guideline in their giving. This practice is fine as long as tithing does not become a legalistic practice or is made to be an indicator of spirituality.